Officer stages stabbing; was facing fitness test

By WILSON RINGAssociated Press Writer

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- An off-duty police officer who reported he was stabbed by an assailant was supposed to take a fitness test at the Vermont Police Academy later that afternoon, said State Police Lt. J.P. Sinclair, who oversaw the investigation into the Jan. 31 incident.

David Reed, 27, was hoping to become a full-time Northfield police officer and to do that he had to attend the police academy, but to gain admission he had to meet the physical fitness requirements, Sinclair said.

"He had not made his run requirements," Sinclair said. "He was going to retest the same day as the alleged attack."

At about 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, Reed staggered out of his home holding his bloodied left shoulder with one hand and clutching his service revolver with the other. He later told police he had been hit in the head and stabbed by an unknown assailant who broke into his apartment.

But police said that forensic evidence gathered at his scene did not match Reed's account of what happened. And Reed told investivators there was no assailant and that his wounds were self-inflicted.

He is now facing charges of providing false information to authorities.

Sinclair said he did not know Reed's current status with the Northfield Police Department.